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Hi There, Just back from my local dealer here in Australia and Oh Joy Joy Joy. My bike has had the dreaded decompressor tick in the RH cam cover since new. Ive complained many times about the issue and BMW response has always been a fix is on the way. Its now 2 1/2 years old and BMW finally has the fix... new design exhaust cams and decompressor. They are replacing my exhaust cams next week all covered under warranty even though the bike is 6 months out of warranty. If your bike has the dreaded tick best make some noise and join the queue for new cams.
Cheers

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Because the GS LC has inherently noisy valves, I have suspect that it is the cam profile that is to blame.
Perhaps the new cams will be ground with a wider profile and less lift, or perhaps a quietening ramp on the lift side.
Please report on the results.

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Ahh yeah well the valves are I guess inherently noisy but I think no noisier than the R80 I used to own. I do like to run a slightly thicker oil to lessen the noises. The problem I had was with the centrifugal decompressor which forms part of the exhaust cam. If you take the cover off and play with it its quite easy to simulate the click. The whole assembly is very loose and when the idle dies the decompressor gives the inherent click heard in many of the early water cooled engines. Its an intermittent click at idle , engine hot , when the idle dies. These engines have a less than smooth idle which I would love to tune out.
Funny I hear some people say just wear ear plugs and ignore it. Well I sure as hell can't do that .... unusual noises drive me nuts.

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My 2014 LC had that right hand tick from new. Quite loud and often commented on. The dealers couldn't solve it despite a thorough inspection. The right hand exhaust cam was replaced by BMW at their cost at its 40,000 km service and the problem is completely fixed. Nothing to do with cam profiles. It is the decompressor mechanism and this is what is modified on the new cam. It won't show if the bike has a smooth idle, but would do if the bike wasn't idling smoothly.

I had a look at the old cam and it was easy to reproduce the noise. A good result. Thanks BMW New Zealand.

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are y'all referring to the "they all do that" metallic sorta rattling noise that comes from the engine, I think on the right side, most noticeable at the end of a ride, esp in a closed space like a garage? A sound like a screwdriver tapping irregularly (sometimes with vigor) on the right side jug?

That can be made to disappear completely?

If so, This is something that BMW shops know about and can "fix" under warranty?

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Its not a continuous rattling sound. More of a loud intermittent click from the RH decompressor as idle dies. The idle is not smooth on engines with light flywheel ... typically the early models of LC.
Attached is a recording I made in the early days of complaining to BMW.
Oops ... won't let me upload a wmv file ... O well .... cheers

Distance Adventure Rider

Hmm well out of warranty with 70K but have documentation that warranty items surfaced at 5,000 mi. While in S America they refused to use S American parts different from US parts to fix and my dealer in Hollywood forgot to order parts then went out of business. :|

Hope other BMW dealers cover me so I don't have to sue BMW international. >

'14 GSW • Rode EVERY US state. Every country in Americas but 3. Every state in Brasil but 1. Ushuaia to Deadhorse. F650 Dakar burned/melted 4-30-14 with home. Bought '14 GSW to continue adventures. Rode through S. America & back twice so far.

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Hmm well out of warranty with 70K but have documentation that warranty items surfaced at 5,000 mi. While in S America they refused to use S American parts different from US parts to fix and my dealer in Hollywood forgot to order parts then went out of business. :|

Hope other BMW dealers cover me so I don't have to sue BMW international. >

I realize that you're tongue in cheek but I have filed a small claim on two occasions against companies that I felt slighted me, one a cell phone company the other a hotel and both times the companies got in contact with me and resolved the problem long before the court dates even though up until I filed they weren't willing to do anything.

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Hi There, Just back from my local dealer here in Australia and Oh Joy Joy Joy. My bike has had the dreaded decompressor tick in the RH cam cover since new. Ive complained many times about the issue and BMW response has always been a fix is on the way. Its now 2 1/2 years old and BMW finally has the fix... new design exhaust cams and decompressor. They are replacing my exhaust cams next week all covered under warranty even though the bike is 6 months out of warranty. If your bike has the dreaded tick best make some noise and join the queue for new cams.
Cheers

Can you get this sound on either side of the engine or just the right side. I have this sound on the left side of my 2015 gsa. BMW technician said it was the throttle body which "were always noisy on the left on gs's and not to worry about it". I only get this when engine is hot.

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Can you get this sound on either side of the engine or just the right side. I have this sound on the left side of my 2015 gsa. BMW technician said it was the throttle body which "were always noisy on the left on gs's and not to worry about it". I only get this when engine is hot.

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Hi there , I,ve only heard of the problem occurring from the RH cylinder. Must be something to do with the rotational direction for this cam. My shop replaced both cams though so must be a design fault with both sides.

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I had mine replaced last week on my 16. Service confirmed it was the aforementioned noise, and they heard it easily. It is a noise separate from the typical valve clatter, it is irregular, sharply metallic, sometimes occurring singly sometimes in couplets, sometimes 1 or 2 a minute, sometimes more sometimes less, IOW irregularly irregular.

So, they exchanged out the cams to the newly configured ones and reshimmed the valves to spec (they were in spec already).

Fully admitting it COULD be my imagination, but if this is the way my mind plays tricks, I like it!
What I have noticed is
Valve clatter at idle is a lot less
The power delivery seems "smoother." and peppier???? Yesterday I looked to see if I was in dynamic mode, inadvertently. I wasn't, but was in Road.
The engine is noticeably quieter while underway. With my typical ear protection, at 3k-4k rpm it is significantly quieter. Spontaneously noticeably quieter.
I add that the original noise that brought me to the shop in the first place? I haven't even listened for that! I fully admit that this could all be "placebo" effect, or not.
Cams that are better within tolerances, that "fit" better, should be smoother, more efficient, 'peppier," etc

Glad I did it. The noise did not bother me all that much, but it appeared to be a simple fix, and there was some appeal to getting new valve shims, as part of the job, at nearly 30k on the clock. I did not look forward to that as a DIY, simple though it may be. The rewards have far exceeded expectations. If it is in my head, so be it...I'm good with that.

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Mine was clicking like hell from the beginning. Service advised me to run it till first check (1000 km). Diagnosis was the right cam shaft / decompressor mechanism is faulty. It has been replaced under warranty (3 weeks waiting time for check / parts delivery) and finally engine is giving the sound as it should.

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some followup about 1000 miles later...the engine definitely has a smoother feel, has a smoother sound, and just feels more "refined." All of these impressions are definitely subjective, but taken as a whole just makes "things better" in my subjective view. My mileage may be a smidge better also, but that is fuzzier. Whenever I ride the bike I think to myself that I am really glad I had the exchange done, and the engine is more grin inducing.

If you have the noise and are on the fence...I vote yes, do it, realizing ymmv

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Engine rattle due to the decompression mechanism of the exhaust camshaft

Hi,
I was able to find a picture of the decompression mechanism of the exhaust camshaft snafu.org/pics/r1200gsw/2014/0702-cam-timing

My bike is a r1200gs LC 2016, I noticed this same clapping noise on the right side cylinder when I am waiting at a traffic sign. My bike has only 2,040km on the odometer! I will service the bike next Wednesday (28/03/18) the dealer scheduled it to replace the decompression mechanism, which involves opening the overhead valves case and fiddling around... And they won't replace the overhead gasket as the service staff explained (I also really dislike the idea very much).

So many known problems for a brand new bike! This bike had the recall for the fork end crack issue preventive patch at 1,000km; The entire left control buttons replaced (the cruise control was being offed by pressing the turn signal to the right...) with 1,300km; The throttle assembly was replaced (right handle grip), as it became faulty causing the bike to go into limp-mode at every engine startup.

I guess the old true BMWs without all these excess of electronics, CAN-BUS thing, water-cooling and cheap solutions like changing the BMW turn-signal-buttons on each side of the handlebar to those "japanesesh-bike-switches", moving away from what BMW bikes were different from the rest, were MUCH MORE RELIABLE and performed pretty much satisfactorily. I like new technologies and accept new trends, as long as they do not compromise reliability and dependability. Furthermore, the price for these bikes stayed on the expensive side. Why would buy a BMW if I have to come to the dealer to fix it all the time? Yeah, it is still under warranty, but the warranty does not cover my time and fuel to go to the dealer or the time I cannot ride the bike.

This is my 5th BMW, but first LC boxer... My previous was a 2009 k1300s, long ago... One thing for sure, GSs are such a best seller that bmw cannot keep up with production... Good for them, but quality is down the drain which is bad for us that patron the brand. The brand is strong, and USED TO BE a synonym of high quality and reliability. I guess with all the electronics and the strong push just to be "the first to release" whatever new trendy feature, simply derailed the true and original BMW bike motto. I can tell, I cannot trust an "adventure bike" to go far from the city, as there are now so many tiny points-of-failure that can halt the bike dead. BMW--German bikes--simple reminds me of Italian cars of the past (still same today?): strong brand, very nice design, but prone to a myriad of problems... BMW bikes stay more in the servicing than on the roads. Owning a BMW is just like owning an iPhone, we all want to own one, but we do not really know why anymore.

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2016 R1200GSA LC here. Got the fork recall done. No other problems. Sorry you have had some issues, but I wouldn't extrapolate that to every BWM bike based on your experience. The silent majority you're not reading is fortunate enough to get out and ride and not have problems. I just got back from a ride around the Italian countryside and through some quaint, old, small towns. Mine is a fantastic machine, I'm blown away with the quality, comfort and performance every time I ride it.

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Pretty sure this is not normal behavior....this is the seal at the base of the filler and pretty clearly seems to be torn. The parts-fiche doesn't show anything that looks remotely like this (in terms of a gasket) so do I assume this is a part of the filler cap assembly that retails for nearly...

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